The Forum - 01/09/2004

     Vivek Syal and Bhargav Mistry miss Indian food. The India-born professionals miss it enough that they're opening their own restaurant. Saffron debuts Saturday in 32nd Center, a new strip development directly across from Innovis Medical Center on Fargo's 32nd Avenue South. "People associate Indian food with curry, and hot and spicy food. We have to get people to understand it is more than that. Hot and spicy and curry are not the only three words in the Indian food glossary," Syal said.

     Syal, an engineer at CNH Global, has lived in Fargo for seven years. He was raised near Chandigarh in northern India. Mistry, a surgeon at MeritCare, has lived here for nine years. He was born near Bombay, in a small town near the Arabian Sea. They share meals together with their families, and have talked often of wanting to share Indian dishes with people here. "We're 20,000 miles from home. When people come to our homes and eat our food, they say, 'Wow.' We said to each other that we should expose this country to some of the nicer tastes of this world," Syal said.

     Six months ago, they began planning their restaurant. They also noticed construction beginning on 32nd Center, a 40,000-square-foot retail center built by Dakota REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) on busy 32nd Avenue South.Jim Knutson, vice president of Valley Realty Inc., which developed the property, said they were looking for a restaurant tenant and were excited to land Saffron. "It's something different. Not just another run-of-the-mill restaurant," Knutson said.

     Syal and Mistry leased 2,200 square feet in the $3.5 million center. They are excited about the location because of its proximity to banks, the hospital and clinic and thousands of nearby homes and apartments. "We could sell pizza and burgers out of here. That would be the easiest thing to do. But it's not what we want to do," Syal said.

     Saffron is a spice -- at $32 an ounce, the most expensive spice in the world. Syal and Mistry said they chose the spice as the name of their business because of its distinctive aroma and taste as well as its therapeutic properties.

     They're keeping their day jobs. They put the kitchen in the charge of Anil Sabharwal, a 46-year-old chef born in Hissar, India, who has worked in hotels in India as well as restaurants in New York City and Pennsylvania. Sabharwal spent Wednesday and Thursday stocking shelves with turmeric powder, coriander powder, bay leaves, cumin seeds and mint dry leaves. He also oversaw installation of a clay oven that will be used to bake bread and roast chicken and lamb.

     The restaurant will be open seven days a week, serving a buffet from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and dinner from 5-9 p.m. The daily buffet is $7.95 while the Saturday and Sunday champagne brunch buffet is $10.95. Reduced prices for children are offered. For those new to cuisine from India, chef Sabharwal suggests trying chicken tikka masala. The dish features boneless grilled chicken in a mild tomato and cream sauce. Or, lamb rogan josh featuring lamb cooked in curry. All dishes are served with basmati rice.

     Saffron features a dozen vegetarian dinners, all for less than $10. It has an offering of eight types of bread, all baked immediately after placing your order. A children's menu features chicken fingers, chicken-fried rice or sweet- and-sour chicken. All dishes can be prepared either mild, medium or hot. The owners are contemplating take-out, delivery and catering services. The restaurant sells wine and beer, as well as hot and cold teas, soft drinks and flavored milk shakes. The restaurant has table and booth seating for 64. Its colors mimic the colors in the spice saffron. An electric fireplace and Bose sound system with music from India provide ambiance.

     Mistry, who had lived in the United Kingdom before moving here, said Indian food is the most popular in the United Kingdom today -- more popular than fish and chips. "We honestly believe that the way we cook is special," said Mistry. "This is something we feel was missing. It has been fun to do this, and we want everybody to have a good time here."